Sōmei Saitō
}} |kanji = 斎藤 綜明 |romaji = Saitō Sōmei |alias = |status = Alive |birthday = February 11thShokugeki no Soma volume 27 extras |age = 17 (Debut) 19-20 (Le Dessert) 27 (At the end) |gender = Male |blood type = B |height = 186 cm |family = Unnamed mother |generation = 90th |occupation = High School Student |cuisine style = |food forte = Sushi |affiliation = Tōtsuki Culinary Academy (former) Elite Ten Council: 5th seat > 4th seat (former) Central (former) |manga = Chapter 118 |anime = OVA 4 |voice actor = Katsuyuki Konishi }} is a 90th Generation student Tōtsuki Academy Alumnus, Originally introduced as the 5th seat of the Elite Ten Council, he is also the former 4th seat. Appearance Sōmei is the second tallest among the current Elite Ten Council. His hair is styled like a mohawk, with his crest being black, while the rest is gray. He has a horizontal scar starting and ending over both his cheeks and runs over the bridge of his nose. He also typically appears with his eyes closed in both casual and formal moments. He wears a standard Tōtsuki uniform, but slings the coat over his shoulders like a cape and does not wear the standard tie. He has large earrings and carries a Maguro bōchō blade, a Japanese knife specialized for cutting large fish, named Isanakiri. It is revealed that he is quite muscular and wears bandages across his stomach.Shokugeki no Soma chapter 151, page 16 Personality Sōmei lives by the code of the bushido, the way of the samurai, and incorporates it in his mannerisms. He is extremely honorable and is not above praising his opponents who show true mettle and skill. Conversely, he seems to have a low tolerance for Momo's childish moments. Somei was often considered a little eccentric with his samurai voracity and persona and was noted as unusual by senior members of Elite Ten. History Sōmei's family used to run a small time Sushi restaurant that was busy everyday and had many regulars. Sōmei's mother raised him by herself and worked as the head of the restaurant. At a young age, Sōmei was able to enroll into the middle school division of Tōtsuki Culinary Academy as part of the 90th Generation. He studied diligently so that he could one day help his mother with their restaurant. At the age of 15, after his mother fell ill, he decided to take over as the head of the restaurant. As the head chef and for being so young, he was looked down upon by many Sushi Chefs, the association and the seafood vendors. Using his skills in Sushi, he cut down all those who looked down on him.Shokugeki no Soma chapter 241 As a third year student, Sōmei completed the Tōtsuki Friendship and Rapport Training Camp and Stagiaire events in his first year and all subsequent events afterwards. He would eventually attain the 5th seat of the Elite Ten Council. Before his debut, he alongside other members of the Elite Ten gathered and selected the participants of the 43rd Annual Tōtsuki Autumn Election.Shokugeki no Soma chapter 37, page 19Shokugeki no Soma chapter 40, pages 1-3 Plot Moon Banquet Festival Main article: Moon Banquet Festival Arc As a member of the Elite Ten, Sōmei and the other Elite Ten Members attended the Autumn Leaf Viewing ceremony, so the first year students who participated in the 43rd Annual Autumn Election Main Tournament could formally meet them. Sōmei remained silent throughout the event and left shortly after to prepare for the Moon Banquet Festival.Shokugeki no Soma chapter 118-119 He was shown later on to have ranked sixth in overall sales for the uptown area.Shokugeki no Soma chapter 134 After the conclusion of the Moon Banquet Festival, Tōtsuki received a shift in leadership as Senzaemon Nakiri was replaced by Azami Nakiri as the new headmaster of the academy. Sōmei and five of the other Elite Ten Council members voted in favor for the move.Shokugeki no Soma chapter 134, page 15 Central Main article: Central Arc After Eizan's defeat by Sōma in a Shokugeki, Sōmei watched as Sōma challenged the Elite Ten Council during the live broadcast.Shokugeki no Soma chapter 148, page 13 Sōmei later reappeared at the gathering of Central Soldiers where him and Azami's "hanpicked" students will be participating in Survivor's Purge.Shokugeki no Soma chapter 151, 17-19 While Sōmei was not seen taking part in the Survivor's Purge, it is likely that he competed in some of the Shokugeki's, contributing to the purge of numerous research groups. Promotion Exams Arc Main article: Promotion Exams Arc Sōmei, along with the rest of Central's members, was brought to Hōkkaido to deal with the last of the rebels. Sōmei also literally dragged Momo along to the plane because of her fear of flying.Shokugeki no Soma chapter 172, 19 As part of his duties in Central, Sōmei came to Hōkkaido to deal with the last remaining Rebels during the Promotion Exams. In the third bout, Sōmei was paired against Hisako Arato, and his victory resulted in Hisako's expulsion. Cooking Style Sushi - Sōmei specializes in crafting sushi and is known for his skill in the art, earning him the 4th seat of the Elite Ten Council prior to his removal. Sōmei's mastery of Sushi gives him an extensive and powerful ability to highlight his star ingredients through flavor enhancers such as butter, garlic, orange juice and lemon juice. Cooking Skills *'Expert Butcher' - Sōmei possesses enough physical strength to effortlessly lift Isanakiri and precisely fillet a large tuna into sashimi. Dishes Original Dishes * Ten Pieces of Tuna Ruby Orbs Sushi-''' Ten pieces of aesthetically simplistic miniature sushi prepared by Sōmei in the 3rd Bout of Rebels vs. Central Régiment de Cuisine.This sushi consists of differents parts of tuna prepared in different methods, forming together aesthetically simplistic miniature sushi. The sushi is described as beautiful as glittering jewels. ** Brushing the medium-grade fatty tuna (Chūtoro) over with Nikiri makes the umami flavor bursting out, which then combines with another kind of umami from the marinated lean tuna (Akami). The fat meat from around the collar bone (Kamatoro) is balanced with refreshing vinegared rice. The dish overall perfectly draws out and capitalizes on the deliciousness of each type of tuna. What's more, the special vinegar used in the rice results in more mellow richness, maintaining a soft, fluffy finish. ** Also, thanks to the scoring method, the moment a person bites into a piece, the tuna topping will melt and mix with the sushi rice, resulting in an overflowing sensation of delicious tuna flavor. *Jewel Butter Seafood Bowl '- A dish made by Sōmei, in the 1st Card of the 3rd Bout of the Rebels Vs. Central Régiment de Cuisine. This Japanese and French dish consists of short-grain rice flavored with orange and lemon juice. Using a salmon steak which is covered with meunière sauce, he skillfully slow roasts it with butter and wheat flour. He also sautes squid liver and innards along with butter, garlic, soy sauce and meunière sauce. The salmon roe was pickled in soy sauce, pomegranate seeds and tonburi seeds, all served in a large bowl. Clubs *'Elite Ten Council' (formerly) - Sōmei is the former 4th seat of the Elite Ten Council. Cooking Duel Records Rebels Vs Central Régiment de Cuisine Misc. Cooking Duels Trivia *''Sōmei'' (綜明) contains the kanji for "synthesize" (綜 Sō) and "bright" (明 Mei). Saitō (斎藤) is made up of the kanji for "Buddhist food" (斎 Sai) and "wisteria" (藤 Tō). *Sōmei's kitchen knife, Isanakiri (いさなきり), means "whale cutter" in English. *His surname, Saitō, is possibly a reference of the Japanese sushi chef Takashi Saito, who owns a three Michelin star resturant called Sushi Saito, located in Minato, Tokyo. References Navigation es:Sōmei Saitō zh:齋藤綜明 Category:Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Students Category:Tōtsuki Culinary Academy Students Category:Elite Ten Council Category:90th Generation Students Category:Central Category:Shokugeki Participants Category:Chef Category:Tōtsuki Academy Alumni